''Trishna'' is a Swan 37

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

belonging to the Corps of Engineers of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. The name ''Trishna'' means “to thirst for” in the Sanskrit language. The 1970-vintage boat, earlier known as ''Guinevere of Sussex'', was purchased in 1984 from the United Kingdom. The yacht has since been used for long distance ocean sailing and training. The first of the yachts' journeys after it was acquired was its voyage from Gosport to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, India. Subsequently, the yacht embarked on its most notable voyage, the

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Mage ...

of the globe from 1985 to 1987. This was the first such achievement by an Indian crew. In subsequent years, the yacht has been used for international cruises primarily in the Indian Ocean region . The Yacht currently is decommissioned and is standing as an exhibit at the College of Military Engineering , Pune .

Background

The Indian Army Engineers have been in the forefront of adventure activities in the Country, whether on land, sea or air. They have been the pioneers in Ocean Cruising in India. The Sapper Adventure Foundation had sponsored a sailing expedition from

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musand ...

, Iran in 1977 in an 20-foot 1909-vintage wooden

Seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

Class sailboat Albatross to test the sailing capabilities of the sailors of the Corps of Engineers and a precursor to the circumnavigation of the globe by the

Sappers A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing fie ...

on ''Trishna''. The 68-day 7,000 km voyage to

was one of the early major ventures by the Corps.

Purchase of boat and sail from Gosport, England to Bombay, India

The planning for the circumnavigation commenced in early 1980s and finally took off in 1984 when a team of officers from the Corps of Engineers flew to the U.K. to buy a boat and sail it back to India. Limited funds dictated the Sapper Adventure Foundation to opt for the purchase of a second-hand sailboat for the venture. After an extensive survey of the second-hand boat market in the U.K., the 1970-vintage Swan 37 boat ''Guinevere of Sussex'' was shortlisted, which was based at Brighton. After purchase of the yacht, it was sailed by the crew to the Joint Services Sailing Center, Gosport, U.K., now known as the Joint Services Adventure Sail Training Center, where it underwent minor repairs and partial essential re-fit to make it sail-worthy for the voyage back to India. The crew also underwent sail training, which was organised under the aegis of the Royal Engineers. Major Ron Gravels, ex-Royal Engineers, was engaged and he undertook a month-long sail training program for the crew on the Solent, English Channel crossings to Cherbourg culminating in a sail to the ports of Guernsey and Alderney in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 23

''Trishna'' set off on her first long distance voyage from the Joint Services Sailing Center, Gosport, U.K. on 12 October 1984. With the onset of winter, the crew had a rough passage, especially in the Bay of Biscay,

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

. With halts at Alderney (14 October),

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

(20 October), Lisbon (26 October),

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

(1 November), Ibiza (7 November),

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

(17 November),

Iraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

(24 November), Port Said (1 December) through the Suez Canal to

Port Suez The Suez Port is an Egyptian port located at the southern boundary of the Suez Canal. It is bordered by the imaginary line extending from Ras-El-Adabieh to Moussa sources including the North Coast until the entrance of Suez Canal. Originally ''Por ...

(7 December),

Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...

(15 December), Aden (30 December),

Salalah Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...

(10 January 1985),

Muscat, Oman Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate wa ...

(19 January) and

(1 February 1985).

Team

The team to sail the boat back from Gosport,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

consisted of the following members: * Maj K. S. Rao, SC, SM, - Skipper * Maj Amreshwar Pratap Singh, SM (Bar), VSM * Maj A. K. Singh, KC, SM * Capt Sanjeev Shekhar, SC * Capt Chandrahas Bharti, SC * Col T. P. S. Chowdhary, AVSM, Team Manager - sailed from Gosport to Port Said * Capt M.S. Pillai, SM - sailed from Port Said to

Maj A. K. Singh was handicapped. His leg had been amputated above the knee after a hang gliding accident in 1981.

Voyages by Trishna

* Gosport- Alderney-

- Lisbon-

- Ibiza-

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

- Port Said- Suez Canal-

- Aden-

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

in September 1984 to February 1985 *

- Lakshwadeep-

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

in April 1985 * Around the World Sailing Expedition:

Male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

- St Helena- Ascension Island-

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

- Belem- Suriname- Guyana-

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

- Colón-

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

- Galapagos-

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

- Suva, Fiji-

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

- Sydney- Darwin- Bali- Jakarta- Campbell Bay-

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

* Goodwill Sailing Expedition:

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

- Campbell Bay- Penang-

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Port Kelang Port Klang ( ms, Pelabuhan Klang) is a town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Known during colonial times as Port Swettenham ( ms, Pelabuhan Swettenham) but renamed Port Klang in July 1972, it is the largest port in the country. It is l ...

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

in 1994-1995 *

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

- Sri Lanka-

in 1996-1997 * Millennium Sailing Expedition:

- Campbell Bay- Penang-

in 1999-2000 *

in 2010. Note: The Goodwill Sailing Expedition 1994-1995 was the first occasion when a lady member, 2/Lt. Deepanita Dass, was included as a crew member in any Indian sailing expedition.

Silver Jubilee Anniversary

The

Indian Army Corps of Engineers The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is a combat support arm which provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the borders, besides helping the civil ...

celebrated the silver jubilee of the historic completion of the '' First Indian circumnavigation'' on 10 January 2012 by again sailing ''Trishna'' across Mumbai harbour to the Naval Sailing Club, Colaba,

, the place from where she had set off on its journey in 1985.

Gallery: Gosport-Bombay 1984-1985

File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 13.jpg, Puja on board after taking possession of Trishna at

Brighton Marina Brighton Marina is an artificial marina situated in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place bet ...

File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 31.jpg, The team at the Joint Services Sailing Center, Gosport with Maj Gen HK 'Harry' Kapoor, Maj Gen Neil Carter, RE and Maj Ron Gravels File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 27.jpg, A training sail along the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 29.jpg, Working on the boat at the Joint Services Sailing Center, Gosport File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 33.jpg, Invoking the Sea Gods for a safe voyage before sail off from Gosport File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 44.jpg, Boat maintenance at

La Corona La Corona is the name given by archaeologists to an ancient Maya court residence in Guatemala's Petén department that was discovered in 1996, and later identified as the long-sought "Site Q", the source of a long series of unprovenanced limest ...

after battling storms during the Bay of Biscay crossing File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 45.jpg, A relaxing moment with the

Portuguese Army Commandos The Commandos ( pt, Comandos) are a special forces unit in the Portuguese Army. Presently, their parent unit is the Commando Regiment (''Regimento de Comandos''). Their motto is '' Audaces Fortuna Juvat'' (Latin for "Luck Protects the Bold") a ...

Lisboa Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 46.jpg, Sailing out of

File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 25.jpg, Crew at the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

base at

File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 48.jpg, Battling the seas during storms in the

File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 50.jpg, Cleaning up during Mother's Watch routine File:Trishna - The First Indian Circumnavigation 05.jpg, A calm moment in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

Gallery: Goodwill Sailing Expedition 1994-1995

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em Ships of India Individual sailing vessels Sailing yachts built in Finland Sailboat type designs by Olin Stephens Sailboat type designs by Sparkman and Stephens 1970s sailboat type designs Sailboat types built by Nautor Swan